Just Plain Bill
   HOME
*





Just Plain Bill
''Just Plain Bill'' was a 1932-1955 15-minute American radio drama program heard on CBS Radio and NBC Radio. It was "a story of people just like people we all know.” Originally called ''Bill the Barber'', the program began on CBS on September 19, 1932. It was originally broadcast at night, but on October 16, 1933, CBS added a daytime version. Night broadcasts ended in 1935, leaving only the daytime program thereafter until the show ended on September 30, 1955. It told the story of Bill Davidson ( Arthur Hughes), a barber in the town of Hartville, and his daughter Nancy (Ruth Russell). Bill often became involved in helping his friends and neighbors when he wasn't cutting hair. Davidson was seldom directly affected by the problems in which he became involved, but he wanted to help people — especially Nancy — when they faced difficulties. Also in the cast: Dick Janaver (1911-1999). The show was created by Frank and Anne Hummert, who produced many radio daytime drama series, in ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territories, nine Minor Outlying Islands, and 326 Indian reservations. The United States is also in free association with three Pacific Island sovereign states: the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. It is the world's third-largest country by both land and total area. It shares land borders with Canada to its north and with Mexico to its south and has maritime borders with the Bahamas, Cuba, Russia, and other nations. With a population of over 333 million, it is the most populous country in the Americas and the third most populous in the world. The national capital of the United States is Washington, D.C. and its most populous city and principal financial center is New York City. Paleo-Americ ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Backstage Wife
''Backstage Wife'' is an American soap opera radio program that details the travails of Mary Noble, a girl from a small town in Iowa who came to New York seeking her future. Personnel Vivian Fridell had the title role from 1935 until the early 1940s. It was then taken over by Claire Niesen, who played Mary Noble for 14 years, until the end of the series. Mary's husband, Larry Noble, was portrayed by Ken Griffin, then James Meighan, and finally, Guy Sorel. The music was supplied by organist Chet Kingsbury. Plot Each episode opened with the announcer (Pierre Andre, Roger Krupp, Stuart V. Dawson) explaining: :Now, we present once again, ''Backstage Wife'', the story of Mary Noble, a little Iowa girl who married one of America's most handsome actors, Larry Noble, matinée idol of a million other women — the story of what it means to be the wife of a famous star. In 1946, when the program was in its 12th year, a newspaper article summarized the plot's status as follows: :When her h ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Newspapers
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports and art, and often include materials such as opinion columns, weather forecasts, reviews of local services, obituaries, birth notices, crosswords, editorial cartoons, comic strips, and advice columns. Most newspapers are businesses, and they pay their expenses with a mixture of subscription revenue, newsstand sales, and advertising revenue. The journalism organizations that publish newspapers are themselves often metonymically called newspapers. Newspapers have traditionally been published in print (usually on cheap, low-grade paper called newsprint). However, today most newspapers are also published on websites as online newspapers, and some have even abandoned their print versions entirely. Newspapers developed in the 17th ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Bill Woodson
William T. Woodson (July 16, 1917 – February 22, 2017) was an American film, stage, radio and voice actor, best known for his narration of the radio series ''This is Your FBI'', the animated series ''Super Friends'' and all its spin-offs, and the opening of ''The Odd Couple'' television series. Biography Stage career Before becoming a professional actor, he acted in stock theatre for nearly a decade with his first appearance in a 1928 play. In 1943, Bill Woodson made his Broadway debut as Lowell Denton in ''Harriet'', starring Helen Hayes. He showed versatility as a performer, proving himself equally capable in classical roles such as that of Montano in the Shubert Theatre's adaptation of William Shakespeare's ''Othello'' with Paul Robeson in the lead role. From 1946–47, the actor played, what is probably his best-known stage role, Le Bret opposite Jose Ferrer as the title character in ''Cyrano de Bergerac''. He also appeared as Tom Mackenzie in ''The Seven Year Itch'', S ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Shaindel Kalish
Shaindel Kalish (January 15, 1910 – November 30, 2002) was an American actress on stage, on old-time radio, and in films. Her first name was sometimes spelled "Scheindel". She was also known at various times as Judith Blake, Ann Shepherd, Ann Preston, Judith Preston Blake, Ann S. Sheps, and Ann Shepherd Mann. She was a victim of the Hollywood Blacklist. Early years Born in Chicago, Kalish was the daughter of Yiddish theater producer Abraham Kalish and his wife, Esther Naidith, and she attended Marshall High School. She participated in dramatic activities with the Institute Players of the Jewish People's Institute, winning first individual prize for women in a competition in 1932. Kalish also attended the Goodman Theatre School of Drama in Chicago. Stage In 1933, Kalish had a leading role in ''Girls in Uniform'', presented at the Blackstone Theatre in Chicago. During the play's run, she turned down an opportunity to meet with representatives from the Radio-Keith-Orpheum fil ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Charlotte Lawrence (actress)
Charlotte Lawrence (April 22, 1921 – October 20, 1993) was an American actress. She appeared in numerous films and TV series from the 1940s to the 1960s. Early life Lawrence was born Charlotte Sorkin in Los Angeles, California in 1921. She attended Fairfax High School where she acted in theatre in Los Angeles before moving to New York to begin her show business career. Career Lawrence started her career during the 1940s, appearing in films such as Half a Hero, Phffft, Three for the Show, Trial, The Solid Gold Cadillac and The Opposite Sex among others during the 1950s and 1960s. On television, Lawrence played a variety of roles on ''Life with Elizabeth''. She also appeared on Dragnet, Climax!, I Led 3 Lives, I Married Joan, Cavalcade of America, Four Star Playhouse, Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, Highway Patrol and Chevron Hall of Stars among others. On old-time radio, Lawrence portrayed Stacy McGill on ''The Adventures of Christopher Wells'' and Reba Britton on ''Just Plain ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Macdonald Carey
Edward Macdonald Carey (March 15, 1913 – March 21, 1994) was an American actor, best known for his role as the patriarch Dr. Tom Horton on NBC's soap opera ''Days of Our Lives''. For almost three decades, he was the show's central cast member. He first made his career starring in various B-movies of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s (with a few A-picture exceptions like Hitchcock's ''Shadow of a Doubt''). He was known in many Hollywood circles as "King of the Bs", sharing the throne with his "queen", Lucille Ball. Biography Early life Born in Sioux City, Iowa, Carey graduated from the University of Iowa in Iowa City with a bachelor's degree in 1935, after attending the University of Wisconsin–Madison for a year where he was a member of Alpha Delta Phi. He became involved with the drama school at the University of Iowa and decided to become an actor. Radio and Broadway Carey toured with the Globe Players. He began to work steadily on radio, including playing Dick Grosvenor on t ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Toni Darnay
Toni Darnay (born Mercy Mustell, April 11, 1921 – January 5, 1983) was an American actress and dancer. Early years Darnay was born in Chicago, Illinois. Her father, Robert R. Mustell, was a doctor, and her mother had acted in silent films and on stage in theaters owned by Darnay's grandfather, Landon Gates. She attended College Prep High School in Chicago, and at the Chicago Art Theatre she studied acting, dancing, and singing. As a youngster, she danced in clubs, including The Palmer House and Chez Paree and performed in vaudeville, repertory theater, and summer stock but often found her ventures ended by her father. After taking night classes for a year at Northwestern University (often dashing from the campus to a night club to dance), she went to New York, looking for work on Broadway at age 19. Career In Chicago in 1940, Darnay was a member of Winnie Hoveler's Dancing Darlings, performing in the floor show at Harry's New Yorker. Darnay acted in stock theater companies ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Young Widder Brown
''Young Widder Brown'' was a daytime radio drama series broadcast on NBC from 1938 to 1956.Terrace, Vincent (1999). ''Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 361. Sponsored by Sterling Drugs and Bayer Aspirin,Sies, Luther F. (2014). ''Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920-1960, 2nd Edition''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 778. it daily examined the life of "attractive Ellen Brown, with two fatherless children to support." The convoluted storyline focused on the efforts of Ellen, in her early thirties, to bring up her two children in the small town of Simpsonville, West Virginia, where she supported herself by running a tearoom, despite continual tragedies in her life. (Another source refers to Simpsonville as "a small Midwestern town.") Produced by Frank and Anne Hummert, this soap opera series opened with the theme music "In the Gloaming" as rendered by organist John Winters. Heard in the title role during the 18-year run were ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Our Gal Sunday
''Our Gal Sunday'' is an American soap opera produced by Frank and Anne Hummert, network broadcast via CBS from March 29, 1937, to January 2, 1959, starring Dorothy Lowell and, after Lowell's 1944 death, Vivian Smolen in the title role. The origin of this radio series was a 1904 Broadway production, ''Sunday'', which starred Ethel Barrymore. This play was the source of the catchphrase, "That's all there is, there isn't any more." Characters and story The Hummerts adapted the Broadway play into a long-running melodramatic radio serial about a Colorado orphan who marries a British aristocrat. It began when two grizzled miners, Jackie and Lively, found a child abandoned and left at the door of their mountain cabin. She was given the name Sunday because that was the day she entered their lives. Later, her last name was given as Smithson. As an adult, she was desired by her childhood friend, Bill Jenkins. She fell under the spell of wealthy Englishman Arthur Brinthrope, who came to ch ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Ma Perkins
''Ma Perkins'' (sometimes called ''Oxydol's Own Ma Perkins'') is an American radio soap opera that was heard on NBC from 1933 to 1949 and on CBS from 1942 to 1960. It was also broadcast in Canada, and Radio Luxembourg carried it in Europe. The program began on WLW in Cincinnati, Ohio, where it was broadcast from August 14, 1933 to December 1, 1933. Its network debut occurred on NBC on December 4, 1933. Between 1942 and 1949, the show was heard simultaneously on both networks. During part of its run on NBC, that network's coverage was augmented by use of transcriptions. Beginning April 1, 1935, nine stations broadcast the transcriptions. Oxydol dropped its sponsorship in 1956. The program continued with various sponsors until 1960. The series was produced by Frank and Anne Hummert with scripts by Robert Hardy Andrews, Orin Tovrov, and others. ''Ma Perkins'' began August 14, 1933, on WLW in Cincinnati. On December 4 of that year, it graduated to the NBC Red network. On NBC and CB ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]